Second
by Ryuacchi
Summary: Everyone deserves a second chance. This time, everything that now happens is inevitable. Who shall win, and who be right below him? Hurry, time is running out...
1. Prolouge: The 3 Second Beginnings

**Prologue: The 3 Second Beginnings**

There were no windows inside the hallway he was in. Only luxury, never meant to be shared to those outside. The walls were made of plain marble, pillars embossed on the material. Pure gold lined the designs carved on them, emphasizing their beauty. The source of the rooms' light came from 3 chandeliers – made out of glass and gold, dancing lights made from the object's reflection. They were attached to a ceiling made out of mirrors, reflecting the red lush carpet below, embroidered with golden designs. There, he saw a handsome young lad staring back at him.

He was Kerberos, now leader of Pluto. His jet black clothes and dark green hair contrasted with his pale skin and golden eyes, which were full of wickedness. He seemed to be out of place, being alone in the hallway, and yet comfortable because of he gave an impression of an aristocrat.

He went there along with his now right-hand woman Yurie a few months ago. Since it was never seen all these years, it took much toil to clean up the whole place with great care, but they have to do it if they wanted to show respect.

This was, after all, Pluto's first headquarters, as well as Takumi Kuzuryu's secret and 10th Seiryuukan.

Kerberos was one of the few to even see this building. At that time, the secret organization was a rising star in the underground, shining more than the other crime organizations out there. They never though they were going to be plummeted down with one blow from DDS. His mask hid his boiling anger as their previous leader, Hades-sama, burned in front of his very eyes.

"Hades-sama was too reckless." He muttered to himself as he walked towards the nearest velvet sofa. After sitting on it, he drew out a drawer from the bronze yet elegant table in front of him. It contained numerous wine bottles, and he picked one of the oldest – 1898. After pouring on a wine glass he found from the same drawer, me paused for a while to marvel at its dark red hue. When he took a sip, he was delighted at its strong taste.

There was a reason why he was here alone. Yurie went out in search for an old accomplice – Anubis, he was called – whom she believed to be indispensable from the team (Anubis was also a Pluto member, one who survived the final clash). Kerberos, on the meantime, was waiting for a call from another survivor, who claimed to have a valuable discovery.

After a few minutes, it came. Hearing his eerie ringtone fill the hallway, he reached out for his cellphone from his pocket and answered:

"Where is the underworld?"

"It has fallen so far from the place above."

Kerberos now had a smirk on his face, one that never appeared in such a long time.

"Nice to hear from you again. So... what is this treasure of yours?"

"He's a genius, Kerberos. Once we get to fully control him, we shall be greater than we were before."

"We will see about that. Not that I doubt you... I just want to see what he is capable of."

"Today is your lucky day then. Yurie saw a potential client... Apollo's searching for him as we speak."

"I look forward to his results. His first work shall send chills to the very bones of DDS."

"You shall see it soon. Farewell." Kerberos let the beeping linger in his ears before he returned it to his pocket. Then carrying his glass with him, he stood up and walked to one of the walls nearby.

This wall was the very end of the hallway, but there was no door to it (the entrance to the hallway was at the other side). Instead, there were portraits, painted to perfection and framed in wood. Kerberos briefly scanned the first portraits – some of the top members of Pluto, such as Charon, Thanatos, Yurie and himself – before stopping momentarily to gaze at the last 4. The first one was that of Takumi Kuzuryu himself, looking simple and peaceful from his old age. The portrait beside it was Hades-sama, a man with an aura of a ruler with an iron fist – he looked both cold and powerful. Next was Ryuu Amakusa as a child. He got his grandfather's cold aura, but his eyes looked more lonely than stoic. And lastly was the portrait of an unknown figure – a child only a few years older than Ryuu-sama.

They were informed of him long ago, but he was soon ignored. "Don't worry." He said to the portrait, finishing his glass. "You shall be recognized by Pluto once more.

His smirk became a degree wider. "Watch out, DDS! This shall be Pluto's second beginning."

* * *

It is a shame for Pluto not to have windows at all. Windows provide us sights to the outer world. Not that said organization cares for the environment, but it was such a wonderful day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and everyone feels peaceful today. 

"KOUTAROOOOOOO!!"

Okay, not everyone. Not in DDS, at least.

Nanami Koutaro, not principal of DDS, sighed as someone yelled his name. His sightseeing from his new office was just ruined.

Nanami, despite being a good disguise master, is the worst choice any could have as a principal, but he was voted by most since he was Dan-sensei's right-handed man. He never enjoyed administration work in the first place, which was a major job description in the highest position in DDS. Also, because of this new appointment, his ego became a bit ego, though it was fortunately not _THAT_ big. (He still calls himself Nanami Koutaro-sama, though)

The one who was most irritated at this job change was his new secretary, Katagiri Shino. She actually does most of Nanami's workload and also organizes his schedule. In fact, it seemed like she was the principal rather than him. To this day she wonders why she suggested Nanami to Dan-sensei before in the first place.

Other than Nanami and Katagiri, there were less changes in the staff. Hongou still advises Class Q, a fact much disliked by said class' majority. Maki and Dokuro advises Classes A and B respectively, in addition to their work. These 3 classes are of special mention because they have more advanced than before.

Class Q, being the official heirs of Dan-sensei, are now taught on how to operate a detective center, since some of them might be the future DDS faculty members. They are also being prepared to teach Class C or D soon, though only Ryuu and Megu seemed fit for the job. Class A now started autopsy, much to the disgust of Yukihira and Kuniko. Their first lesson featured Maki showing them an actual autopsy in front of them, which had the whole class rushing to the bathroom. "Better now than later." Maki explained. Class B, other than finally allowed to partake in cases, sometimes in undercover or by themselves (the school average has gone up) are now taught in the more complex stages of the art of disguise. They were actually doing well, even though Nanami himself wasn't teaching them.

After Pluto was destroyed, crime rates seemed to be getting lower. The number of crime organizations were getting smaller and smaller, as well as the number of requests to DDS. Because of this, Classes Q, A and B received less cases and so their study time in DDS became shorter, allowing them to study other subjects in another school if they wish to.

Today has the most amount of work to do. Today is the start of the DDS entrance exams, and the whole school is going nuts. Dan-sensei never gave them instructions about it before he passed away, so they have to create new situations of their own (Before, Dan-sensei did all the plans for the examination). Nanami was assigned for the crime scene in the first part of the test, but so far he did nothing but to muse at himself about DDS.

_There were a couple of changes, but DDS shall always remain the same._ He thought, deciding to ignore the chaos (again), most especially the enrages shrieks of Katagiri (again). The said secretary, who gave up on getting his attention by calling him or poking him or waving her hand in front of him, or shouting that there was an Unidentified Flying Cactus, was unfortunately forced to do his job (again).

"Still won't budge?" Hongou asked, when he saw her red in irritation and exhaustion, sketching a crime scene as fast as lightning.

"Yes." She snapped, not looking away from her work. "Really... I thought he was excited in receiving new students!"

"He is." He replied, displaying a rare amused look thrown to the still-musing principal. "He just doesn't like to do the work required."

"Well, thank you for that correction. Now may you please assist me NOW?!"

"In what way?"

"Get his lazy butt out of his seat and have him start working!!"

Hongou sighed. _Nanami... What had you done to make Katagiri this angry at you? _"Nanami, if you don't do your job, I'll make sure you never see your beloved cacti ever again."

This made Nanami jolt up. "Don't you dare hurt my cacti!!"

"Thank you." He heard Katagiri mumble, though she seemed more irritated that Hongou got his attention a lot easier than she did.

Nanami took one last glance at the scenery outside. "Let's see what diamonds shall we see in the rough." He said silently. "What diamonds that shall mark DDS' second beginning."

"NANAMI KOUTAROU!!"

"Coming!"

* * *

Like most buildings, the room we are now observing also has a window, though not as big as the one in Nanami-sensei's. It is a normal-sized window, its white curtains drawn so the sunlight could leak in the room, displaying plain white walls and floor, the perfect representation of Zen(2). The bed, which was near the window, was lined in light blue covers. Other than a closet merged with one side of the wall, there were no other pieces of furniture in the room other than a study desk and a chair, crafted with varnished light brown wood. And on the chair was a young man, staring at one particular object located on said desk. 

It wasn't the white study lamp which was currently off, nor the neatly lined books on its end. It was a small picture, framed in ebony. It was a group of young men in jerseys patterned with yellow, black, white and red, some goofing around, some looking serious. He was one of those serious looking ones, specifically the bespectacled one with the neat brown hairstyle.

He was Yagyuu Hiroshi, regular of the Rikkaidai Fuzoku Middle School Boys' Tennis Club.

Or at least, used to be. All, except one, who became the captain of the club, were now at high school. The academic life had already begun, and as expected, they all managed to reach regular positions in their first ranking (yes, the High School players were that bad, though he fought with someone worthy to have a rematch with again). In fact, they already breezed through the Districts, and are now concentrating not on the Perfecturals, but the Regionals, where they may finally get their revenge on their number 1 rival, Seishun Gakuen.

However, Yagyuu's decision may change everything.

Before he even started to play tennis, he had always been a fan of mystery stories. Because of it, both his logic and observation skills had surpassed those of an ordinary detective. This year, he made sure he was confident enough to pass the DDS examination in Class Q, A or B, so he could continue studying in Rikkaidai and join their team to the Nationals.

One small flaw, and it might send at least one of his dreams crashing down.

His family were very supportive. When he excused himself from today's groceries because of it, they all hoped for the best for him and said good luck before leaving. He also told the rest of last year's Middle School regulars – his best friends – yesterday in their reunion. Their reactions were different from one another, and they raced through his mind whenever he glances at their group picture.

Kirihara Akaya – the only person who remained in Middle School – had the most violent reaction. He went wild, eyes bloodshot, complaining that only Renji would frequently send him his favorite chocolate pudding if he left. It took 3 of the regulars and the thread of a slap to make him stop.

The next most violent one was that of Marui Bunta, the curly redhead who was blowing his trademark green bubble gum as well as holding a peace sign in the picture. The volley specialist screamed at him, reminding poor Yagyuu that he has yet to treat him in that new maid cafe in Akihabara(1). He fortunately calmed down faster than Akaya.

Beside Marui (in the picture) was the bald half-Brazilian, Jackal Kuwahara. The defense specialist, being the most sane person of them all, also said the same thing Yagyuu's family did – "Good luck, and I hope for the best."

When he looked at their calm-looking, closed-eyed dataman, Yanagi Renji, he remembered him saying that "There was an 84 chance of you planning to go there, and a 43 chance that he'll end up in one of the top 3 classes." He also told him to increase his chances, and if he did pass, tell him everything about it.

Then there was Sanada Genichirou, the big boss- er, man with the blue cap. "Even this is not about tennis, you must not lose." He boomed. "If you do, I will see to it that you shall be punished dearly." This added to the list of consequences he must face if he did fail to pass.

Next was the now-High School captain, Yukimura Seiichi. Nothing has changed about him – still feminine, and still a force to be reckoned with. He was grinning when he wished Yagyuu luck. However, he swore he saw sparkles around them at that time...

Then he turned to the last and most important of them all – the white hair Trickster, Niou Masaharu. When he heard the news, he avoided eye contact and he seemed not to care at all. He just shrugged and said "Yeah, yeah..." he said lazily, still using that unique accent of his. "Just do your thing." However, his eyes were saying another thing, and Yagyuu saw it: "Pass. I'll be waiting for you."

Yagyuu smiled back at this memory. "Of course I will." He muttered, finally standing up. He turned to his closet and drew out a pair of blue jeans, a white polo, a black jacket, and his rubber shoes. He changed with this clothes (He left the jacket unbuttoned), then he walked until he reached the entrance to their apartment.

"Of course I will pass," His voice was firm and determined. "Of course I will pass, because the team is waiting for me. This shall be my second beginning." It was his last words before stepping out and closing the door behind him. Now, there was no turning back.

* * *

**Disclaimer:**_Tantei Gakuen Q_ is created by Satou Fumiya. _Tennis no Oujisama_ is created by Takeshi Konomi. 

(1) _Akihabara_ – A city in Tokyo famous for technology and maid cafes.

(2) _Zen_ – A lifestyle in Buddism. It expresses minimalism, which is a trait I'm sure that Yagyuu would have.

**At last, after one week, it is finished. It was hard editing this, though – the initial draft had the paragraph sequence in the DDS scene and shambles and Yagyuu's ending lines were pretty cheesy. I fortunately managed to solve it in the final input, though. However, there still might be errors in this chapter, so please point out any mistakes you see, and I will make sure to correct them.**

**I highly recommend researching on these two series, since they might serve as clues later on. As some of you might notice already, this is based on the anime, manga and live action version of TGQ, and I shall base PoT info from its manga version. I would say more, but the summary tops it all up.**

**And yes, I know it is a risk to have these two series together, but my evil mind just makes all of these stuff.**

**Well, I would really appreciate it if you review. Also, feel free to ask questions! If a certain question is asked too many times, I'll answer it in the next chapter.**


	2. File 001: Chance Encounter

**File 001: Chance Encounter**

As Yagyuu expected, it took him hours to reach the venue premises (He does live in Kanagawa prefecture after all). The journey was uneventful, spending his time in the train sleeping therefore saw no one familiar on board.

What was unexpected for him, however, was the appearance of the place. The building looked rundown, because the outside wasn't painted at all. The walls were supported by 4 columns found in each corner, slanting in wards. Each side had 1 humongous window pane. The infrastructure towered all the trees planted near it, making it visible from afar.

When he was walking under a covered sidewalk towards it (which seemed to be rusty), it gave him an impression of an old gym. On the left was a basketball court, and on the right was (Yagyuu felt a small squirm of pleasure in his stomach) a tennis court. No one was playing in either area.

Inside gave more surprises to Yagyuu. While it looked abandoned on the outside, it was brand-new on the inside. The walls were of a newly painted light orange, and the cement floor was coloured grey. The ceiling was also white, though fluorescent lamps also occupy the area. However, it looked unusually dirtier than the floor. An Olympic-sized swimming pool covered most of the place, leaving room only for a walking area, 3 corridors and a stair case for the second floor.

Concluded that he was a bit too early, he decided to investigate the middle corridor (the other two had a sign that says they lead to the comfort rooms and lockers, so he didn;t bother to investigate there). It turned out to be a hallway that contained images of famous Japanese athletes. He left immediately after spotting a magazine clipping about Rikkaidai's 2nd National win in a row 2 years before – the Gentleman is apparently uncomfortable staring at himself.

After his long walk, he decided to go to the second floor. The area where the swimming pool should be in the first floor was covered with glass, full with footprints all over ("So this was the 'dirt' I saw before." Yagyuu mused.) The rest was made with the usual concrete. Beside it were doors leading to what looks like a theatre without chairs, bustling with life thanks the the biggest crowd he had ever seen – not including some National Finals, though.

_This must be the exact location of the DDS examination venue. _He thought, while observing various figures. Majority of them were older than him, and half of them were adults. Some looked like your normal neighbour next door, while others took the liberty to actually dress like famous detectives such as Sherlock Holmes and C. Auguste Dupin(1), which made Yagyuu sigh. He was so concentrated on observing their surroundings that he didn't notice that bumped into someone until he noticed his vision became blurry.

"Ah! I-I'm sorry!" He then saw a blurred figure put on his glasses for him. "Thank you." He said while thinking that he was lucky for the glasses to still be intact. Seconds later, he saw a young woman in front of him.

Her long, dark red hair was tied up in a ponytail, though two locks remained, one on each side. Bangs framed emerald eyes, featuring a glint that reminded Yagyuu of the Trickster. She has a fair face and a faint smile drawn on it. She was wearing a white polo overlapped with a pink sleeveless, though it didn't cover her black and white strapped necktie. She was wearing a black and white stripped armwarmer on her left arm and a pink and black stripped fingerless glove on her right hand. Her sleeveless was tucked over her black denimed miniskirt, which ended below her knees. After it, she was wearing a long pink and black striped sock her right leg, while her left knee was covered with a black and white stripped anklet. To top it off, she was wearing Chuck Taylors in colours of pink, white and black. There wasn't any piece of jewelry on her, and her only other accessory was a small black leather backpack. It gave Yagyuu the impression of one of those models in a lolicon(2) magazine.

"It's alright." The gentleman replied assuringly. The redhead therefore sighed in relief. "It's good to hear that." He heard her say, her voice not as high as the others. "It's good to see someone near my age, though. There are a lot of adults in here."

"Agreed." He replied, observing the scenery again.

"What's your name?"

Yagyuu blinked the second time, turning towards the girl. "Excuse me?"

"Your name. I'm betting our chances would increase if we help each other. Since we're both teenagers, not to mention the first person to actually notice me – others ignored me when I bumped onto them. If we _are _going to do this together, we should at least know our names."

He thought about it. _It might be hard for the two of us to take it individually, but if we work together, then our chances of passing would increase._

However, suspicious thoughts started to take over. _Isn't the DDS examination a test on one's _own _abilities? What if she was just an obstacle, meant to confuse the applicants? What is I would fail if he followed her?_

He had to make a conclusion soon, so he decided to think about her being a DDS spy later.

"I guess teamwork would indeed help. My name is Yagyuu Hiroshi."

"Nice to meet you, Yagyuu-kun. I'm Imichi Kimiko."

"Nice to meet you too, Imichi-san."

"Your Keigo(3)."

A third blink. "Huh?"

"We'll be together for quite a while, which would be very uncomfortable... especially if one dislikes Keigo. Just call me Kimiko or Kimicchi, Kay?"

"K-Kimiko..?"

"Yes! Ki-mi-KO."

"Very well, but on one condition."

"And that is?"

Yagyuu gave her the first real smile he did since he talked to her. "Call me Hiroshi-Jun."

Kimiko seemed to be happier with it. "Alright then, Hiroshi-Jun!"

Then suddenly, all of the lights except the ones above the stage went out. The bustle of the crowd gradually died out as everyone, including Yagyuu and Kimiko concentrated at the remaining lighted area. They all knew what it meant – the exam is about to start...

* * *

The red velvet curtains were drawn, revealing a female adult. "Welcome to the DDS examination. I am Katigiri Shino, a teacher of DDS. The test is divided into 2 parts, each as challenging as the other. The first test requires to solve a certain crime, and the second is a written test, where you must answer 6 questions correctly." 

She paused as mumblings became audible. Yagyuu felt he had a couple of butterflies in his stomach. They have to solve a case right at the start! And only 6 questions... he had a feeling they would be terribly hard.

After a while, Katigiri raised her microphone higher, and the crowd settled. "Here is the case you must solve. The victim is a recently discovered heir to a big company, Ryuzu Makoto."

A profile of a teenage woman appeared in a screen behind Katigiri. "She was murdered at approximately 8:00 PM, by the entrance of her apartment. She died of suffocation."

The screen changed, causing some members of the examinees – particularly the women – to gasp. Replacing the woman's image was the crime scene. Her body was seen hanging by the noose, her feet floating inches above the flat ground. There were only a few signs of a struggle in the room – the doormat was disordered, there were broken glass everywhere, and the shoes seemed to be thrown around. A wide, empty wooden box (It was a shoe cabinet) had its lid open, and the cactus in the background seemed to be ignored.

"This is a picture taken from a security camera. The minutes before, it was turned off, presumably by the killer, before it turned back on, revealing this image." Katigiri explained. "Later on, several people discovered the scene and therefore called the police and an ambulance. It took about 45 minutes for them to reach the destination, a lot of time for anything could happen.

"And something _did_happen. This is the what the police found." And there was a new picture. It was the same place in the same perspective, but a recognizable change is seen – the body was gone. The noose was still hanging, the box still empty, and the signs of the struggle looked the same. Also, the cactus remained the only living thing in the picture.

"After this, they also gathered up the possible suspects and ended up with 6. Majority of them were the ones who discovered the body, all of them lacking an alibi. Ryuzu Makoto-san herself is included, because the police could not find the body and concluded that she might pretended to kill herself to hide. No one else was seen enter the building, and we are sure that the body is not thrown out."

After that, the screen was raised up, and Katigiri moved to the right to reveal 6 figures, each with a spotlight above them and a number in front of them. There was no need for an explanation – they were the suspects.

"So, she _is _a suspect too." Yagyuu suddenly heard, followed with a series of clicks. He turned to see Kimiko, taking pictures.

"Is that allowed?" He asked curiously.

"Of course, we need it for future reference. Not everyone has a photographic memory. you know."

The gentleman had to agree to that, so he left her to deal with the pictures and observed each of them. The first suspect was indeed Ryuzu Makoto. Even though she was standing and breathing, she did look like a corpse. Her skin was very pale, and vertical and diagonal marks can be seen on her neck.

Suspect #2 was a high school student. He looked like a _yakuza_(4) member, the top of his winter uniform(5) opened to reveal a red shirt. His hair was poorly bleached, and a white piece of cloth was tied on his head. He was also wearing what might seemed to be a belt teared into shreds around his waist.

Suspect #3 looked like a businessman. His black suit didn't appear to have wrinkles after all, and his jet black hair was well-kept. His black eyes seemed cold, and he has a huge suitcase with him as well.

Suspect #4 was a spectacled woman in her twenties. She was wearing a black shirt and jeans. Her auburn hair was kept with flower hair clips.

Yagyuu nearly choked on suspect #5. Lo and behold, it was Kirihara Akaya himself, in his Rikkaidai uniform. The messy, curly black hair was there, was well as his nasty emerald green eyes. The gentleman could deduce that it wasn't really his _kouhai_(6), when he noticed that this man was slightly taller than the actual person.

Suspect #6 was the cactus in the crime scene, and Yagyuu stopped observing at that. Since when did dessert plants hang people? Besides, there weren't any spikes on Ryuzu Makoto...

"These 6 are staff members disguised as the suspects." Katigiri finally said after a few minutes. "You have to know who the suspect is, and where did he or she hide the body. You then have to follow him to his destination, and then tell him later on where and how did he or she hid the body. Good luck." And that was all she said, as they all (except the cactus) walked towards the exit. Most of the crowd were now rushing towards them, giving others a hard time to concentrate.

"Ack! With this noise, we won't be able to solve the case in time!" Kimiko wailed.

"Don't worry." Yagyuu said, still calm. "There's only one exit to this gym. Until they walk out here, we could still catch up."

"Well, if you say so..." Kimiko muttered.

The gentleman then went into a thinking pose. _Who? Where? How? So many questions, so little time..._

* * *

**Disclaimer:**_Tantei Gakuen Q_ is created by Satou Fumiya._Tennis no Oujisama_ is created by Takeshi Konomi. 

(1)_C. Auguste Dupin – _A fictional detective created by Edgar Allan Poe. He laid the groundwork for other famous fictional detectives such as Sherlock Holmes

(2)_Lolicon – _A Japanese style term depicting cute and innocent girls. This applies that Kimiko looks a bit cute, at least in Yagyuu's eyes.

(3)_Keigo – _No, not Atobe. This Keigo is means "polite speech", or formal speech. Most Japanese talk formally to people they just met.

(4)_Yakuza – _A gangster of sorts. They are called the "Japanese mafia"

(5)_Winter uniform – _Most schools have 2 kinds of uniforms – a summer uniform, and a winter uniform. They are worn depending on the present climate.

(6)_Kouhai – _Opposite of sempai. It means "underclassman"

**At last, I have updated. :D I'm not sure, but this may be shorter than the prologue. The exam is supposed to be in one big chapter, but I wanted people a chance to solve the case above. So don't be shy and unleash your inner detective! Since I'll probably concentrate on my studies, I might not be able to review for a while. Still, don't let that stop you. You may review for questions, anything about the current case (problems with the crime, the answer, etc.), or you may just praise me, which would be really nice.**

**Finally, thanks to those who reviewed last time :)**


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